Red Sox demote Daniel Bard to Double-A Portland

Friday

Mar 29, 2013 at 6:00 AM

The Red Sox named Daniel Bard one of their starting pitchers last April 1. A year later, the ramifications of that mistake continue to be felt. Bard was optioned to Double-A Portland Thursday, one of several roster moves the Sox made as they prepared for Opening Day Monday against the Yankees in New York.

By Peter Abraham THE BOSTON GLOBE

The Red Sox named Daniel Bard one of their starting pitchers last April 1. A year later, the ramifications of that mistake continue to be felt.

Bard was optioned to Double-A Portland Thursday, one of several roster moves the Sox made as they prepared for Opening Day Monday against the Yankees in New York.

Shortstop Stephen Drew was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list, meaning that Jose Iglesias will be the shortstop at least temporarily. The Sox also optioned first baseman/designated hitter Mauro Gomez to Triple-A Pawtucket.

The Sox went into Thursday night’s 6-1 win over the Twins with four players — Jackie Bradley Jr., Mike Carp, Daniel Nava and Ryan Sweeney — competing for three spots on the roster.

Bard’s demotion was not a surprise. He allowed 7 earned runs on 9 hits, 4 walks and 2 hit batters over 8 innings in spring training. Because he had minor league options and right-handed Clayton Mortensen did not, it also was an issue of roster management.

Once one of the game’s premier setup men, Bard requested the opportunity to start after the 2011 season and the Red Sox agreed. Since that fateful decision was made, Bard has had a 6.53 earned-run average and a 1.71 WHIP in games he has pitched in spring training, the majors and the minors.

Bard was 4-6 with a 5.30 ERA in 10 starts before the Sox sent him to Pawtucket last season. He struggled in the minors and again when he returned to the majors in August.

At 27, it’s fair to wonder whether Bard’s career is in jeopardy.

Pitching coach Juan Nieves still believes Bard can return to prominence as a reliever. But it’s going to take time, which is why Bard was sent to Portland and not Pawtucket.

“Sometimes guys go to Triple A and they think, ‘If I get a couple of good starts, a good game, a couple of six, seven good innings in a row, then I’m good. I’m back.’ No, this a process,” Nieves said.

“Consistency is going to be very important. Not only from the performance itself, but his consistency also with his delivery. We want him to understand that there is a process.”

Nieves said Bard took the news well.

“He knows he’s not where he wants to be, but he knows where we’re going with it,” Nieves said. “The direction is there. Now it’s how much work he puts into it and how important it is every day. That’s going to be the key.”

Bard’s velocity dipped dramatically last season but started to return in spring training. Nieves said his choice would have been to send Bard to winter ball to start the process earlier.

“You get another month and half, two months with him and we should see incredible results because he’s on the right track,” Nieves said. “It’s just not happening all at once.”

Nieves wants to see Bard get more called strikes because he’s locating the ball well. The Sox also want to see Bard pitch with confidence and attack hitters.

“Oh, absolutely,” Nieves said when asked if all that could happen. “There is a lot there. If he’s healthy, I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t come back and be the guy that we always have seen.”

As for the other roster spots, Nava is likely to land one. The bigger question is whether the Sox will keep Bradley, who has been the star of their camp. The 22-year-old has played only 61 games above Single-A ball but looks ready.

Manager John Farrell was asked how the Sox are weighing the needs of the team and what is best for Bradley at this stage of his development.

“Both of those are balanced,” Farrell said. “You always want to get the best feel you can for the makeup of the individual, looking at all sides, so in the event of something that doesn’t turn out well or as he’s challenged, how does he respond to those? That’s a projection.

“Until you get to that point, you don’t fully know. How strong mentally is he? If struggles occur at the major league level, what would his response be?

“Yet at the same time, you look at the spring training he’s had, the talent that he is, and you try to put together the best team with the best players that you can. We’ve allowed him to go this deep into camp, so we’re not afraid and not unwilling to break with him. If that were the case, we would have sent him out four weeks ago.”

Part of the decision hinges on whether the Sox are concerned with keeping Bradley under team control for a year longer and delaying free agency.

“We can’t control tomorrow, let alone six years from now,” Farrell said.

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